jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I'm thinking of purchasing a Sony Alpha a6000 or an a6500.

If any of you have experience with either of these cameras, would you care to share your opinions? This would be my main camera, and I shoot mostly landscape-type photos, along with a smattering of whatever comes along.

Thanks in advance for your offerings.

gmccaleb Loc: East KY / South AL

Just got the a6000 and love it! I used my d7100 for a family shoot and my hands and arms hurt terribly from the weight. The a6000 is going to be my primary camera for sure.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I admit total ignorance about the Sony models, Jaymatt, but why are you omitting the popular a6300? /Ralph

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

The a6000 is owned by a friend with the 2 kit lenses. He loves it. He wants an a6500, but the price is not cheap. $1400, body only. Read the reviews. Mostly 5 Stars from B&H. This is the best of the a6000 Series.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Do you have large hands or arthritis in your fingers? I loved my A6000, but the grip caused my hands to freeze up after carrying it for a while. I have no experience with the A6500.

Hank Radt

I have an a6300 and am very satisfied. I decided against the 16-50 and 55-210 kit lenses after reading the lens reviews, and bought it packaged with the 16-70 f/4, to which I added the 10-18 f/4, which is excellent for landscapes. I looked at the a6000 and a6500 as well, and between the three, it gets down to what you really want to do with the camera - prioritize your needs, then compare the specs.

Couple of links regarding lenses

https://www.switchbacktravel.com/best-lenses-sony-a6300
https://www.borrowlenses.com/blog/best-lens-for-sony-a6000/

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I had an A6000 with the two kit lenses, the 16-50 and 55-210. I was satisfied with the lenses. I loved the camera, but due to a problem with my right hand, I had problems manipulating the controls, so I took it back and swapped it for a Nikon D7200 with the 18-140 lens. I like the Nikon, but I'd rather have the A6000 again. I may be putting my DSLR gear up for sale and get the A6300 with the 18-200 lens. I understand this is a very good lens. I highly recommend the A6000.

I have to amend this a bit. I had an A6000 which I sold in a moment of craziness and immediately regretted it. I really liked that camera. Then I got the second A6000, but had developed hand issues.

crafterwantabe Loc: Mn

I’ll be following this thread... this is the type camera I’m saving for...

Hank Radt

Not sure what your appetite and budget for lenses is, but don't neglect the FE lenses in your research either. While designed for Sony's FF cameras, they fit on the a6xxx's. They are a bit heavier and more expensive, but there are some very high quality FE lenses that might be of interest. To the list below, Sony has added a 70-300 and a 100-400. Key thing, think about your lens strategy while making the body purchase - while the kits are attractively priced, a lens you never use is expensive...

https://www.switchbacktravel.com/10-great-sony-fe-full-frame-lenses

Hank Radt

Another thought, particularly for landscape photography: don't forget that the a6xxx's are crop factors which means the effective focal length of the lenses are ~1.5x. So 16mm on the on these bodies is equivalent to 24mm on a full frame, and an 18mm is equivalent to a 27mm. Hence the reason I went for the 10-18, which gives me an effective 15-27mm lens, and the extra couple of mm less at the low end really make a difference.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I was looking at these when I decided to go mirrorless, and I borrowed an Alpha ar7 from a co worker. If you like landscapes, I would at least consider this one over the a6000 or a6500.

FWIW, I decided not to go FF and fell in love with the Fuji for its retro design. Not trying to sway you from Sony....Happy hunting....

repleo Loc: Boston

I have the A6000 and love it. Some reasons - small, light, WYSIWYG EVF, focus peaking, eye focus, highlight zebras, histogram in EVF, full control with just one thumb. Also since I have full control and picture review from the EVF I don't need to keep putting my reading glasses on and off to look at the monitor. It was my first step up from a run of small compact cameras and it opened up new horizons for me.

If cost isin't an over-riding concern I would go for the A6500 for the IBIS, metal body and the better EVF. The A6500 may not be worth upgrading from the A6000, but should definitely be a consideration if starting from scratch. For lenses, consider the 18-105mm F4 OSS G lens over the two kit lenses for 'whatever comes along'. The Sony Zeiss 24mm F1.8 is a superb landscape prime lens. The Rokinon 12mm f2.0 is amazing for night and 'starry sky' shots. The kit 16-50 is fine for when you want a small set up that will fit in a coat pocket. If you take the advice of others and go for FE lenses instead of the APS-C lenses, I would definitely go for the A6500. The A6000 body isin't strong enough for heavy lenses (like the 90mm macro) when mounted on a tripod. If you want to experiment with old 'legacy' lenses, the Olympus OM (film) Zuiko manual lenses are cheap and look and sit very well on the A6xxx.

I now also have the A7Rii and a couple of FE lenses. Th A7Rii is definitely a superior camera, but I still use the A6000 a lot - its just more enjoyable to carry and use.

Get a good guide book to get the most out of it.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

While I don’t use Sony cameras, I’d go for the A6500 for its 5 a is imagine stabilization. Once you try it, it is very hard to go back to a regular camera. The view finder is also pretty small in the a6000/6300. Good luck!

Hank Radt

Good catch - should've mentioned that. Both the a6300 and the a6500 support the FE lenses. And if you're ever thinking of any of the Sony FFs (AR7s or the A9), definitely consider the FE lenses.

As for image stabilization, a lot depends on the lenses you buy - if they have OSS, the reviews indicate the cameras perform almost identically. However, if you're looking at non-stabilized lenses, then you'll want the a6500. Also, the a6500 has a touch screen - definitely a plus but, on the other hand, as I'm shooting with my eyes pretty close to the screen or viewfinder, I don't personally see as a major disadvantage.

And yes, get a good guidebook - camera manuals are pretty sparse in describing what all the functions can do - I got Gary Friedman's guide for Kindle for about $15 (there are others) - well worth the price, and it will save you a bunch of time working your way through the settings. In my case, I started with film, where you basically had three settings: focus, aperture and shutter speed - ASA (= digital ISO) was determined by the film you used, so the guidebook, for me, was critical in working my way through all the options.

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

The A6300, like the A6500, has a better sensor and more AF points than the A6000. The main difference between the A6300 and A6500 is that the A6500 has in-body image stabilization but the A6300 does not. In-body stabilization is a significant value for hand-held photography with lenses that do not have optical stabilization but not for photography from a tripod.